Falling From Grace
by Verenda
Summary: A/U: He could feel himself removing his hand from his head and gripping his sword again with both hands one finger at a time... He could feel his face changing into a victorious smirk... And then he felt nothing. Please R&R.
1. Chapter 1

Falling From Grace

Chapter One:  
Proposition

Through parted fingertips and blurred vision, Ichigo could barely make out the image of Yammy holding his shoulder where his right arm used to be. The feeling of a mask developing over his face made it hard to concentrate and his fingers dug further into his scalp. The laughter rang in his ears, the cold and sadistic laughter that begged to be set free. As the mask grew over his face and his eyes darkened to black, that same laughter bubbled at his lips. Ichigo was nothing more than a thought at this point. He had succumbed to the power of his hollow counterpart. He could feel himself removing his hand from his head and gripping his sword again with both hands one finger at a time. He could feel himself ready to pounce on his target again. He could feel his face changing into a victorious smirk. He could feel his feet lightly touching the ground, running. And then he felt nothing.

With a high pitched laugh, the now Hollow Ichigo leapt to his target, Yammy. His black and golden eyes glittered with the excitement of battle. Yammy's eyes were wide in shock as he felt the blade of his enemy pierce his abdomen. With a swift movement, Ichigo jumped to Yammy's chest and pushed him to the ground with his feet in an effort to remove his blade. Yammy was frozen in fear, trapped on the ground with blood beginning to fill his mouth.

"Too easy," Ichigo's hollow form said. With his blade at Yammy's throat, he began to make a small incision under Yammy's jaw. A hand grasped his arm and he was forced to swing his sword at the small man that stopped him from killing his original target.

The man dodged easily enough and stopped a few feet away from Ichigo, who appeared ready to kill both of the Arrancar at any moment.

"I'm going to need to stop this battle, Kurosaki Ichigo," the man said.

"And who might you be?" Ichigo asked with a growl, upset about having the fighting stopped. His body burned with the desire to feel the pressure of flesh pressing against his blade. He wanted the air to be filled with the scent of blood and battle.

"My name is Ulquiorra, and what you have done to Yammy is quite impressive," he said with an air of arrogance.

"Are you next then?" he asked playfully.

The other man shook his head. "No. Rather, I have a proposition for you." His face never changed expression and he spoke with a certain arrogance as if he were better than everyone else within a ten mile radius. "I am part of Aizen-sama's army. I was sent here with Yammy to gather information on you, or rather, your fully human counterpart.

"I think you should join us. You seem to be very reckless in battle, but also very powerful and your power would be very useful to us in Hueco Mundo in the coming months."

"And what would I get out of this?" Hollow Ichigo asked with a smirk.

"Ultimate domination over the entirety of the spirit realm with Aizen-sama," Ulquiorra said with a small grin. His expression was almost a mirror image of Ichigo's at that point.

"Then in that case, I have no other choice than to agree."

Ulquiorra nodded. With a swift movement he lifted the now-unconscious Yammy onto one shoulder. He then began opening a portal back to Hueco Mundo, but before being able to leave, he was interrupted by the man he was taking back with him.

"What should be done about these survivors?" Ichigo asked before stepping into the portal.

Orihime stared at her classmate in fear. The battle had only lasted seconds, and the power she felt was seemingly unfriendly. "Kurosaki-kun," she whispered. Her heart sank as she saw those black and golden eyes behind the hollow mask. Ichigo was no longer Ichigo. He was something different. Something evil. Fear bubbled inside her for a brief second as _I'll be next_ entered her thoughts.

"They are of no use dead or alive. If they live, they will be no threat to us and good riddance if they die. I'd rather not waste the time to kill them now," Ulquiorra responded, turning his back and making his way back to Hueco Mundo. Ichigo followed just after sending a smirk to Chad and Orihime. As soon as the two of them were fully in the portal, it closed and there was no evidence, minus the large crater in the ground, that anything had ever happened in that small area.

The image of Hollow Ichigo's eyes burned in Orihime's mind. They were cold and black with golden centered that pierced her soul. She stood and continued healing Chad, who had not yet regained consciousness. The sight of Ichigo leaving with that strange small man troubled her. She almost started to cry as she thought _Kurosaki-kun is now our enemy just like Aizen. _Tears welled up in her eyes, but before they spilled over, a hand touched her shoulder.

"It's going to be fine," Urahara said. He smiled when Orihime looked up at the man standing over her. Just a few steps behind him was Yuroichi, who frowned at the sight of Ichigo missing.

"We were too late Kisuke," Yuroichi said discontentedly. She walked in a small circle, scouting the area. "Those Arrancar must have already left." She turned to face Orihime. "Where is Ichigo's body? I don't feel his riatsu anymore…" she trailed off as Orihime's eyes began to water again.

"Kurosaki-kun is not dead," she said quietly. Her eyes darted to the ground and she stared intently at the grass beneath her feet as she spoke. "During the battle, Kurosaki-kun changed. His eyes changed color and this mask grew over his face. He killed the larger man that was here. And then the smaller one, Ulquiorra, asked him to come with him to Hueco Mundo. Kurosaki-kun… agreed… fight… their… side…." Orihime could hardly speak anymore as sobs shook her entire body.

As Orihime fell to her knees crying, Yoruichi and Urahara shared a look of uneasiness. The two of them knew what they both had to do, and they knew what was about to unfold.

Elsewhere…

Rukia stared up at the sky as she sat on the stairs leading to a building with the number 13 on the door. She sighed heavily with the news Renji had just given her. The red haired man put a comforting hand on her shoulder before turning to get back to his own squad. With the news that Kurosaki Ichigo had just changed sides, everyone was preparing for the war against Aizen.

At first, she couldn't believe the news. It wasn't possible that Ichigo would agree to change sides. It was plausible that such a kind-hearted boy would simply change his mind about what was and was not good and right. And then she didn't want to believe it.

She didn't want to fight. She knew it was not going to be easy. If Ichigo truly had changed sides, then Soul Society had just lost one of their greatest allies. It all felt like a dream to her. It was surreal to think that the same boy she had given her own Shinigami powers to had now just began to use his own power for something worse than anyone could imagine. It all felt wrong. It was like a nightmare which she couldn't force herself to wake up from.


	2. Chapter 2

Falling From Grace

Chapter Two:  
Sides

Two sets of footsteps echoed through a never-ending hallway. "Keep your distance with Aizen-sama. I'd rather you get yourself killed on your own time, not while I'm around to take the punishment as well," Ulquiorra stated, breaking the silence.

Ichigo's eyes narrowed at the command. It was ridiculous for this obviously inferior man to be giving him orders as if he were higher up in some kind of nonexistent chain-of-command. His mind wandered while dismissing any kind of anger he might have felt for the shorter man. Although he had won the battle for control of the body, a war was still raging in his mind….

Hollow Ichigo looked down upon the crumpled heap of the orange-haired boy on the ground of the sideways city. "I warned you," he said to the boy that couldn't even hear him. "You're only unconscious, but knowing how you react, when you regain the ability to fight, you will try to win back your place as king of this domain." He turned his back on Ichigo and smiled. "For now though, you can remain the horse."

Ichigo removed himself from his thoughts as he noticed that he and Ulquiorra had made their way into a large room. At the far end of the room appeared to be a throne where one figure sat with his chin resting on his left hand. Flanking the throne were two other figures with their hands behind their backs. As they got closer, Ichigo noticed the figure on the throne to be familiar in some way.

In a weakened state, he recalled his human self being severely overpowered by this man. His hair was slicked back, leaving one strand to hang in his eyes and he held an air of superiority which could have been felt from miles away. _ Aizen _a voice in the back of his head said with a growl. Ichigo quieted the voice easily and smirked. When he and Ulquiorra were within ten feet of the throne, they stopped and Ulquiorra slid Yammy off his back and knelt on one knee, his head down for a brief second. Before any words could come from Ulquiorra's mouth, Aizen grinned.

"When I told you to gather information on Kurosaki Ichigo, I never thought you would actually bring him to me," Aizen stated in amusement. "But what an interesting chain of events!" Aizen's grin never faltered as he stood from his throne, his eyes constantly set on Ichigo. Ichigo's eyes narrowed as Aizen walked a full circle around him, as if studying him like a unique specimen.

When Aizen returned to standing a little more than a foot in front of Ichigo, his eyes became a mocking glare and his grin changed to a smirk and then a frown. "So now I have to ask," he started in a quiet voice, "do you stand before me as a prisoner, or an ally?"

Ichigo growled and spit at the ground near Aizen's feet. "I stand here as neither _your _ally nor anyone's prisoner," he said just as quietly as the question he was asked. In his eyes there was a small display of playful eagerness in the chance to fight the man standing before him.

Aizen said nothing. He bared his teeth slightly while scowling at the insolent man before him. Before letting the situation get out of hand, he turned on his heal, letting his cloak brush Ichigo's legs, and walked back towards the throne. "Take this pest away from me for awhile," Aizen said with a wave of his hand. "And be sure to fix Yammy up," Aizen turned to face Ulquiorra with a smirk, "because once he's back on his feet, I think I'll introduce all of the Espada to our newest _soldier,_" At the word 'soldier' Aizen was back to sitting on his throne, and casting a devilish glare in hollow Ichigo's direction.

Ulquiorra nodded, and grabbed Ichigo by the arm and began pulling him toward an exit.

Elsewhere…

Ururu walked back into the room carrying a tray with cups and a tea kettle. She set the tray down on the small table where Urahara sat across from Isshin and began pouring the two men tea. Urahara sipped his tea quietly, with a somber look on his face, while Isshin stared at the table with a look of horror, his head in his hands.

Urahara sighed. "It's not as if Ichigo is gone forever," he said while setting his teacup on the table. "He's just like all of the other Vizards… He just hasn't gained any control over the power of his hollow form, and he was in a weakened state, so the hollow took over."

From somewhere else in the room, Orihime walked over to the two men and placed a hand on Isshin's shoulder. "Kurosaki-kun is strong and I believe in him." Her statement caused Isshin to look up at the girl to see a wide, comforting smile across her face. He nodded, and weakly smiled back. When he moved his eyes back to staring at the grain of the wood in the table, Isshin failed to see Orihime's smile fall, and turn to an upset stare. She softly removed her hand and walked back to a back area of the small shop.

"Soul Society is sending a few vice-captains and such over to the real world," Urahara said with another sip of his tea. "I don't know if they know how real this fight is." He sighed. "It's as if they're not taking Aizen seriously if they feel that they can accomplish something with only a handful of troops."

Isshin also sighed. "I'm sorry, Kisuke, but I don't really care what Soul Society does anymore. I just don't want them to hurt my son."


End file.
